/sci/ - Science & Math

>>4054985

years ago I did a submarine tour of crashed WW2 planes around some Hawaiian reefs. Later on the same trip I did scuba diving. Nobody scuba dives just once, it affects everyone, just to different degrees.

For me it was hypnotic, and after a time I forgot that I had a limited air supply. I felt very much like I lived there, like I could eat and sleep there for the rest of my life. Having to surface and leave was a rude awakening. By comparison the surface was too bright, too loud, too hot and harsh, too buggy and so on. Being weightless, surrounded by a gentle blue glow, seeing undulating rays of light cast down from the shimmering sky-like surface and planting my toes into the soft sand of the ocean bed made me wonder how it is that we're considered better evolved for land. Everything about it seemed less comfortable and welcoming than the underwater world.

Obviously eventually your air runs out and the illusion is broken. But for some there is a powerful desire to return, better prepared, and make a way to live down there as a permanent resident.

Besides, don't you get tired of the relentless focus on space? What possible adventures are there to have on Mars, other than going there? It's a cold, red desert. The ocean is full of life, beautiful and mysterious, with so much left unexplored that there are still adventures waiting to be had there. We *need* to go to space for practical reasons, but I don't understand anyone who doesn't also *desire* ocean exploration.